Lime prices are at an all-time high, causing restaurants and airlines to drop them from their menus, industry experts reported this spring. One Texas wholesaler said that the price of a case of limes has increased from about $4 to more than $95.

Lime prices are at an all-time high, causing restaurants and airlines to drop them from their menus,industry experts reported this spring. One Texas wholesaler said that the price of a case of limes has

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Photo: Don Bartletti, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Skyrocketing shrimp prices put squeeze on restaurants, stores

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Anyone who eats shrimp can't help noticing that the price has jumped around the past four years and is now sky high.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the price for headless Gulf of Mexico shrimp off the boat is $10.05 per pound for the largest shrimp category (15 shrimp per pound) in the Western Gulf, which includes Texas ports.

In 2010, shrimp in that category cost $6.40 per pound in the Western Gulf, NOAA reported.

Shrimp isn't the only Texas staple that has seen costs skyrocket recently. See other food items that have been impacted, and how you can ease the pain of the price hike.

At Brasserie 19 in the River Oaks Shopping Center, 1962 W. Gray, the restaurant is paying $10.25 per pound for slightly smaller shrimp -- those in the 16-to-20 per pound category -- said Dan Jacob, co-lead chef.

"In some aspects, shrimp is now as costly as lobster or crab," Jacob said Tuesday.

One reason that Jacob said he'd been hearing for the price spike is a disease that has been killing off shrimp in Asia, affecting the global price.

"That's what I've been hearing from all my purveyors," he said.

Rather than passing the price increase directly to customers, Brasserie 19 tries to balance it out in other ways, he said.

Some flexibility is built in with the restaurant's "grand platter," which is listed on the menu as "market price," rather than a set price. The platter includes poached shrimp as well as lobster, oyster, fresh clams, tuna tartar, and snowcrab claws, Jacob said.

Goode Co. Seafood, which has restaurants in Houston and Katy, has not raised its menu prices for shrimp dishes yet but it in the process of evaulating it, said Tom Dayton, chief operating officer for Goode Co. restaurants.

"We are definitely challenged with the price of shrimp over the last 12 months," Dayton said.

Although the disease known as Early Mortality Syndrome has affected mainly black tiger and white shrimp in Asia, the impact has been felt in the Gulf of Mexico, where Goode Co. buys its shrimp, Dayton said.

"We're true to our roots," he said. "We serve what we can get within our state and our region. We've always stuck with Gulf shrimp no matter what the price is."

Gulf shrimp prices are up, Dayton said, because of the huge U.S. demand.

"The main thing is the U.S. demand is over 1.4 billion pounds a year, but the Gulf of Mexico produces only 175 million pounds a year," he said. "That's what's creating the price increase."

The shrimp consumption rate in the United States has doubled in the past 30 years, according to NOAA Fisheries.

In 1984, the U.S. average per-capita consumption of shrimp was 1.9 pounds per year and is now 3.8 pounds. The record-high consumption was 4.4 pounds in 2006.

Wild-caught Gulf shrimp account for a small percent of the market. Catches are smallest in March and April, due to the shrimp life cycle and the operation of the commercial shrimp fleet.